I hadn’t listened to many podcasts until recently, but I have a few early morning commutes and decided to use my time in the car to soak up knowledge and inspiration.

(P.S. Leave your podcast recommendations in the comments!)

Mind Over Finger

I started with the Mind Over Finger Podcast by Dr. Renée-Paule Gauthier, and I’ve since listened to every episode. I love her interviews focused on mindful, efficient practice and techniques, and I’ve gathered a lot of inspiration to shake up my own practice.

One of the more recent episodes was with Marc Gelfo of Modacity. I’d heard of the Modacity Practice App earlier this year, but I hadn’t fully jumped in to using the app.

Marc has a fascinating background and vast knowledge on the science of learning and improving, which he based the app’s features around. After hearing him talk about it, I had to try it!

Mind Over Finger and Modacity teamed up to host a Mindful Practice Challenge for the month of November, and I was just too intrigued to NOT jump in!

Your Language Matters!

The biggest revelation of the week came from Dr. Gauthier’s thoughts on watching and noticing the language you use surrounding your goals and practice sessions. Notice opportunities to be self-compassionate. She also stressed that we can decide to have fun!

Something clicked in me, and I went swapped out a word in my goals to:

ENJOY.

I switched

“I will practice my high register tapers every day”

to

“I get to enjoy high register tapers every day.”

Then I practiced.

And while I did, I continuously re-played the word “ENJOY” in my mind, and you know what?

I felt far less pressure to be perfect, and started taking myself less seriously.

It allowed me to be imperfect without losing faith in myself, and from there, I could build on success rather than dread.

Lo and behold, I was enjoying myself!

It’s almost absurd that deciding to enjoy myself was the lightbulb moment of the week. It even felt RADICAL to choose enjoyment!

The next day, I started thinking about practicing and told myself: “I should really practice now.” It became clear to me that fear and pressure were growing in this moment.

This is where it starts to happen. I’m aware now, so I can decide on something else:

I re-framed my statement to “I get to enjoy practicing my instrument now!” and jumped up and dove in with ease and excitement!

Reflection

How many days have I felt pressure before and during practicing vs. the number of days I allowed myself to enjoy it?

I don’t have to wait for permission to enjoy, I’m worthy of enjoyment right now!